The story of Joel Friedman, 53:
Diabetes Control Achieved with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment

“The quality of my sleep has improved tremendously since using the CPAP mask. I wouldn’t care if it was painted pink and had a clown nose! I’d still wear it to reap the benefits of a quality night’s sleep including, increased energy and lowered blood glucose levels.”

For years, Joel’s wife and children complained about his loud snoring that filled every room in the house at night. The family “joke” became more serious, however, when Joel’s wife started to notice long pauses in his breathing when he slept. At the same time, Joel noticed he lacked energy on a daily basis, to a point that didn’t seem normal. As an advertising executive, he worked on commercial sets and would often fall asleep during his lunch break. Activities he once enjoyed, like playing with his dogs, had to be curtailed. In addition, Joel suffers from diabetes and became frustrated every morning when he measured his blood glucose levels and found they were unpredictably high, forcing him to take a shot of insulin.

Joel’s wife encouraged him to seek a physician’s opinion for his symptoms. Sure enough, after conducting an overnight sleep test, Dr. James Herdegen at the University of Illinois at Chicago confirmed that Joel was suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. He recommended Joel wear a CPAP mask while he slept to prevent his airway from collapsing, providing a better night’s sleep. And what a tremendous difference the CPAP mask has made in Joel’s life.

He has more energy now than he’s had in years. At first, Joel says the mask took some time to get used to wearing, but now he can’t imagine even napping without it. He once again is able to enjoy taking vigorous walks with his dog and isn’t fearful that extreme fatigue will cause him to nod off during the day. Most significantly, Joel’s morning glucose levels are no longer consistently high, meaning he’s been able to reduce the amount of insulin he injects into his body. “This is important because the more insulin you take, the more immunity the body builds against it, making it even harder to maintain a healthy weight.”

Joel is thankful for finding a treatment that provides greater control of diabetes and a much higher quality night’s sleep!

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